The invention described herein is an aseptic filling machine intended for continuous-cycle function.
Amongst known machinery utilized for bottling and canning fluid, paste, semi-stiff and lumpy foodstuffs, one type basically comprises a single revolving basin at whose bottom a plurality of open-top cylinders--located so as to communicate directly therewith--accommodate respective plungers designed to expel whatever substance happens to lie within the cylinder in the direction of a filling jig. Vertical motion of these plungers is brought about by a guide, or plate, located beneath the plungers and engaging the lower, running extremities thereof during rotation of the machine. The guide is circular, and inclined so as to produce raising and lowering of the plunger-end, --hence of the plunger.
Machines of this type further comprise a fixed obturator placed in direct contact with the basin-floor and occupying part of an annular and coronary element in the basin itself. Underneath, cylinders are brought to an operating position one by one by rotation of the basin in readiness for the stroke which displaces the substance therefrom; once the cylinders revert to suction, they move into an area unaffected by the obturator. In this fashion, the suction stage causes foodstuff to drop into the individual cylinders whilst the delivery or expulsion stage causes the same substance--not able to escape from the upper part of the cylinder by virtue of the obturator's presence--to be directed to filling-jigs which batch the same into containers.
These machines are capable of batching into various sizes of container. It suffices to move the guide aforesaid upward or down with respect to the revolving basin in order to diminish or increase the plunger-stroke and, as a result, the cylinder displacement.
Up to the present time, machines of the type thus described have not been able to carry out such batching into containers under aseptic conditions.
One advantage of the invention described herein is that of enabling container-filling under aseptic conditions as well as easily-controlled batching of the foodstuff by the machine into containers.
A further advantage offered by the machine is that of permitting both easy cleaning thereof and a reduction in frequency of servicing and maintenance operations thereon.
Another advantage of the machine described herein is that of ensuring a greater functional reliability.